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Engineering The Alpha: How A Chubby Book-Lover Got Ripped, Rich & Revered – with John Romaniello

Posted on Apr 17, 2013

How did a chubby guy who worked at the Gap launch a profitable online business that teaches people how to be fit?

John Romaniello is the founder of Roman Fitness Systems. The method he teaches there has been used by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who invited him to head his Fitness Advisory Board, and by regular people, who talk about their workouts in the comments of his blog posts.

John Romaniello is the founder of Roman Fitness Systems. The method he teaches there has been used by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who invited him to head the Arnold Schwarzenegger’s fitness advisory board, and by regular people, who talk about their workouts in the comments of his blog posts.

rationalize it, and like pick the option that makes the most sense, I’m

always disappointed. A great example of this is like, I moved into an

apartment because it seemed like I would save money because I’d have a

roommate, and he’s a great guy, but I’m just not in love with the

apartment. And so to save myself a thousand, or 1200 dollars a month, I

took this sub-par apartment, but I have to live there. I mean, when I’m in

New York, I’m there like all day. I work from home. And so now I have to be

in an environment that I’m not in love with, whereas in my old apartment, I

loved it. I loved the building. It was like a high rise. I had a great

view. It was just a little more expensive. I did not need to save that

money, but I decided to be like responsible, and I’ve learned from that.

And because I’m actually, I think I’m less productive in the apartment

because I don’t love it, and it’s like it hampers my writing, and so

theoretically I am making less money than I would have if I lived in the

other place, you know?

Andrew: What about the car?

John: So the car. So when I was still training, I needed a new car

because mine was in accident, and I made another, this is the first, like

really big responsible decision I made, I wanted something cool, but I

decided to buy something economical and practical and fuel efficient, and

so I, like, leased a Volkswagen Jetta, which I, like, hated. Like I was

cool for the first two weeks, since it’s a new car and that’s fun, but,

like, I hated being seen in it. Like I will always believe that, like from

2000 on the Jetta’s a girl’s car. They made it very feminine, it looks

like a chick car, and I’m driving around, like this big (?) guy in this car

that I don’t like, and I was paying $269 a month on my lease. And so I’m

now paying to drive, like it’s not a lot of money, but it was, you know, I

wasn’t online yet making what I am now, but even if you’re paying a dollar

to pay for something you hate, it’s a really shitty feeling. And so one

day, this is after the first final phase launch, I’m living in the city at

this point, and I’ve got this great apartment, and I’m driving this Jetta,

and I’m just, I don’t like this car.

And then I drove past a Jeep dealership, and if you’ve ever driven past a

Jeep dealership, you know how they display their cars, they always got like

things, like, parked on a rock. And so there it was, this, like, this

orangish four-door Jeep Wrangler, they had taken the doors off and the top

was down, and I was, like, I need that car. So I, like, spun a U-turn and

drove into the dealership, and I said, I just walked in, the sales guy

said, “Hey, can I help you?” I was, like, I’m going to help you by making

your job really easy. I need that car, and I need to walk out with it in

two hours. So I would up paying to get out of my lease in the Jetta, and

having that built into my lease payment for the Jeep. So realistically I

should be paying, probably, let’s say $389 for the Jeep, but I’m paying

$450 to, you know, because I don’t want to being upside down on the Jetta.

So the long and short of it is that because I did not honor my decision

making center, because I didn’t make a decision from here, and instead made

one from here, I am now spending more money in the long run to have saved

money in the short run, and do something I hated. So I would say that like

the thing that I got was . . .

Andrew: Not an ultra flashy car, I mean I guess because it’s the color it

is . . .

John: Yeah, I mean it’s just the car I’ve wanted since I was like . . .

Andrew: At this point over a million dollars in the bank, and that’s what

you, that’s the best thing you bought, the most fun?

John: Yeah. Just here’s the thing, what I noticed is that, as I mentioned

my income doubled or tripled from, you know, pre-internet to internet, and

doubled again in 2011 to 2012. But here’s the fun thing, when it doubled

from 2011 to 2012, my life did not change at all. So what I believe is now

I make enough money, my income could double tomorrow, it could triple, it

could quadruple, and I don’t think my life would change in any way. I

mean, I’m leaving this apartment and moving into a nicer apartment anyway,

so that’s still the apartment I want. I drive the car I want, I go to the

places that I want, I don’t have to worry about money. I’m not interested

in money, money doesn’t motivate me at this point, you know, I’m good, I

don’t need to make anymore. So for me it’s just like . . . yeah.

Andrew: I know what you mean. I wonder what, there’s not anything else

that I want.

John: Right, you know, I have a great life. Like I’m . . .

Andrew: Except more influence.

John: Yes, yes, actually one of the things I’ve always said is that I am

by far more interested in fame that I am in money, or influence, you could

say. It’s like the more people I have access to there are cooler things

you can do. Like Tim (?) talks a lot about, Tim’s a really good friend of

mine, I like to quote him because I learned a lot from him. So one of the

things he and I talked about, and he’s written about this, is that his goal

was never to have a lot of money, like the idea of having this (?) that he

can trade for goods isn’t appealing to him, because if you worked hard

enough and build your influence, all of the things that you could buy with

money, you could get for free with influence anyway, so just focus on that,

you’re probably going to be richer in the long run. I will say one thing,

because I actually do . . . the thing that I am doing now and I’m making

this income, I’ve become an angel investor, and I invest in about three

companies, and looking to invest in more, so that’s the thing. Really what

my massive income shift has done for me is created an ability to take risks

and start new companies and, you know, invest in others and help guide

them, and it’s also allowed me to do more charity work, which is something

I’m really passionate about. Actually just about 10% of my net income goes

to hunger related charities in New York City . . .

Andrew: Right.

John: . . . because I think that it’s really interesting that hunger and

obesity are two of the biggest problems facing this country. And, you

know, I make a lot of money, I’m very fortunate to make a lot of money off

of people who want to lose weight, so who ostensibly eat too much, and I

would like to use some of that money to feed people who eat too little, and

to me there’s poetry there.

Andrew: And another reason to go to romanfitnesssystems.com, and I hope

people go there after this interview to see photos and to see the blog

posted we talked about, and also the book is called Man 2.0 Engineering the

Alpha. Is that what’s it’s called, why do I keep calling it Man 2.0

Engineering the Alpha, and you call Engineering the Alpha?

John: Man 2.0 is the brand, and Engineering the Alpha is the title, so

think of this as Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back.

Andrew: Got it.

John: Does that make sense?

Andrew: Yeah. So Engineering the Alpha is what we want to go and look

for.

John: Yeah, I mean if you find that on Amazon, or the URL for the book is

engineeringthealpha.com, but you could search Man 2.0 and you’ll get there.

Andrew: All right, cool. Thanks, John.

John: Thank you so much, Andrew.

Andrew: You bet. Thank you all for being a part of it.

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J L

Great interview Andrew. John’s guest posting popped up on my RSS feed this morning, so your interview with him was timely. I liked the “fun buy” question towards the tail end of the interview. I generally strive towards being economical and practical but agree with John that it can hamper creativity. Not to mention that paying for something you hate is a shitty feeling. I’ll definitely need to incorporate some of this mindset into my own lifestyle going forward.

Peter Arnott

Awesome interview, getting me through dissertation writing late night. Love the marketing push John and Adam is doing, came across him on 4HWW blog and through ramit sethi as well. Honouring decision making centre….think everyone is going to relate to that. Most useful take away from interview…can’t just double your working time and expect to double income…got to work smart.

Charles Kennedy

My business has just doubled! I gave up poker and became Awesome!

http://www.facebook.com/mike.m.lin Mike M. Lin

I like how John went about posting anything and everything to start, but then zeroed in on whatever subjects got the most attention.

I noticed something similar with the hodgetwins channel on YouTube. The first video was uploaded on Christmas Day 2008 talking about all kinds of $#!*. A year and half later they posted their first bodybuilding video. About four months after that they created a new channel specifically for bodybuilding, twinmuscleworkout, which as of today has 108MM views–more than the original hodgetwins channel despite it being younger.

They didn’t start out to create a bodybuilding channel, but that’s what the community showed them it wanted.

Irina

Ha-ha, I love it! I felt like the interview was lacking substance at times, even though Andrew did an excellent job at trying to zero in on specifics.

Charles Kennedy

I agree. Andrew is awesome and can’t control everything. I felt John seemed to focus on John and not much was disclosed on the “business” and tactics. Oh well, it’s all good, at least now I know someone who likes comic books, star wars, and threesomes.

Marcin

A little bit different, but still very cool and interesting interview. John didn’t reveal many specific business tactics, well he talked about increasing his work time and exposing more often to potential clients, took the business online and used affiliates etc.

But what he’s REALLY good at is pitching his product without being very direct. This is how he really got his clients, affiliates, online audience. Without a doubt I’d prefer to learn some bodybuilding techniques from him than from a super-buffed dude who answers to each question “I have 50 cm in biceps”. People want to folllow and do business with interesting people (in many aspects). And the more interesting people one knows, the more interesting things can happen.

By the way, it worked on me too and I’ll buy Engineering the Alpha.

PS. Andrew – 44:18, that smile…haha ;]

Arjun Saroya

While I didn’t get any tactical insights from this interview, I did take away something equally as valuable; that is that building a philosophy while you build your business can make the difference between success and failure.

John’s descriptions of going from point a to b in his business weren’t so much about tools and tricks but were more about the mindset he was in at each stage. Because of the Mixergy interview format it was easy to see the clear progression of his own personal philosophy while not coming across as pedantic or self-helpy. (which is often the case when diving into this kind of subject matter)

This interview was actionable in a new way.

First action for me to brush off the Campbell books on my parents’ bookshelf.

yaelgrauer

Andrew, I’m curious why you don’t accept books after an interview for your own personal use but would give one away to a listener. Isn’t that sort of the same thing? Also, since Roman was already on the show, how is it a conflict of interest? Just wondering–as someone who obsesses about COI on a regular basis.)

Erik

I’m usually a little reluctant to listen to these type of interviews. I prefer to listen to interviews with people who have built businesses based on SAAS or real world products. From listening to this and other info product marketers I’ve learned the following.

First create a website and start promoting yourself based on your so called expertise in some field. In actuality you don’t really have to be an expert as long as you have a good story to tell. It also doesn’t hurt if you’re good looking. Remember to inject your personality (be awesome) into every blog post and create a persona for yourself that’s memorable. Beg, borrow or steal a list and grow it big enough to start the most important phase, monetizing your users. Start with e-books or info products. Make sure to outsource most of the real work so you can continue to promote your brand. Create webinars and video tutorials that you can use over and over again to generate more sales. Make deals with as many affiliates as you can (the best ones can push a ton of traffic to your site). Go to conferences and network. Wash, rinse and repeat until you’ve built a large enough brand to start “life” or “business” coaching. If you’re really ambitious create your own three to four day conferences. Make sure to start the pricing at 10k per person.

Am I getting this right?

Jonathan

From this interview, I’ve learned the importance having multiple threesomes to ones online business success. I kid…

Actually, John has reminded me the importance of reading for ones business growth as well personal growth. People who are good communicators and writers are generally voracious readers. John is just another example of this. He has compelled me to read more than I have been.

Favorite quote: “I’m a very bookish guy. So, I read as much as I could. And then I spent about three months reading and then I just applied.”

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501817740 Ruby Taylor

I have learned that in order to create revenue online I must consider creating and selling information programs.
Not only create information programs but also invest the time in a
proper launch. I have my work cut out for me but I am super excited
about helping adults smile no matter what. http://SmilingCounts.com

goodwince

Got a lot from this interview.

Follow your decision making centers. “I’m very much directed by my heart, my gut, my dick. And so any time I try to make an intelligent decision, like rationalize it, and like pick the option that makes the most sense, I’m always disappointed.” John recognized his own transformation and how much his own life changed. Decided to give that same feeling to others. Managed six figures while being terrible at business following his decision making centers. Which leads to the next portion, focus on being awesome. Gaining influence and being awesome will get you to where the money is.

Other tidbits.. checkout Hero’s Journey.

http://mixergy.com Andrew Warner

It’s not a huge issue. I just don’t want guests to feel like they need to give me things that I can buy on my own.

Getting books before interviews a huge prep help to me and doesn’t cost the guest much (esp since it’s usually digital), so I almost always ask for the book.

http://www.facebook.com/antjinsan Hung Hoang

Before today I haven’t known or heared about John Romaniello before, but man what did that change today! My favorite podcasts are (which I listen every day or week, depending new uploads) are:
1. Underground Wellness by Sean Croxton
2. The School of Greatness by Lewis Howes
3. and Mixergy of course :)

Talking about “being everywhere” with John Romaniello (instead of Pat Flynn). Man, John really knows how to market himself and to think that I’ve never heared about him untill now.

Anyways, the thing I really liked about the interview (beside the book giveway ;) is when John talked about how he makes much better decisions when he listen to his heart instead of being rational or making sense which makes him spend more money in the long run to have saved money in the short run!

I myself had a few instances when I’ve made the same mistake where I’ve made a more rational decision instead of going with my gut which didn’t feel right or costed me more in the end. So thank you John for the wise lesson, you really drove home with that one for me :)

Joe

John not only had a interesting story to tell but he told it well. Listening to his story you understood his growth pains and really began to understand his personal beliefs. He has that “IT” factor of selling himself and not the product first which was a huge asset to his success.

The key difference between John’s story and a lot of entrepreneurs out there is John grew into his business. He started as lifting coach and naturally progressed from there. He didn’t set out on this path solely to become rich or an internet famous personalty. He followed his passion and continues to follow it even after success. That is a business philosophy any single person could follow. Follow your passion and the money will follow.

Kevin Espiritu

Hey Andrew,

Just wanted to let you know that your Wistia email capture is showing up even if we’re already logged in members!

Arie, Community Manager

Thanks for helping us out with such a useful comment

Arie, Community Manager

;)

Arie, Community Manager

This comment earned you a trophy–thanks adding more value to the program

Arie, Community Manager

Comments like these make the interview even more useful–Thanks Arjun

Arie, Community Manager

Thanks Mike–I like how insightful this is

yaelgrauer

Gotcha. Thanks, Andrew!

stevepyoung

John, love the collect logos bit. Glad to know I’m not the only one! =)

Awesome interview, Andrew!

Foonatic

Exact and succinct. I am both sick of and jealous of all the jokers out there doing that model successfully. I know it takes a ton of work to do it right, but I think that model is developing into a bubble.

http://www.facebook.com/simontf Simon Flynn

optin box in the video? Pretty cool but a big cheeky. I thought I had to optin to make it play ;)

http://www.salesprocessengineering.net Justin Roff-Marsh

I liked the ‘just be awesome’ exchange’. It sounded like a glib, ‘blow-off’. But there was real value behind the curtain. The take-aways are, hang where potential clients hang, be conspicuous and share information to generate sales opportunities. That translates to lots of mediums. It’s ‘be awesome’ with purpose!

http://www.perezfox.com Prescott Perez-Fox

Great to hear some discussions of Joseph Campbell on this episode. In general, I can sympathize with the nerdy pursuits that John discusses in the book, but we don’t often hear how those theories can be translated into business. Thanks for that insight.

This interview has quite a bit in common with the Tim Sykes one such as Facebook posting (shallow vs. meaningful content), personality sells, etc.

I’m starting to wonder if those that say this lacks “substance” are looking for something complex… where there is no complexity. Being awesome is definitely not an actionable tactic that you can implement right now. It’s a personality/mindset/personal philosophy that you yourself understand. Not something you can explain to someone else, tactic by tactic.

http://mixergy.com Andrew Warner

I see what you mean.

handsomejoe

There is nothing to be jealous of. I see alot of people hate info marketers. I’m not one, always wanted to do it, but “i always got attracted buy real life stuff but i’m sure info business is more fun. Anyway back on topic. At the end of the day it comes down to value. If a person can deliver value to an other person, no matter how that person will be payed now or later in some way. It can be a like, or a tweet or money. So u can be the one who steals from someone and provides value to an other one it does not matter, as your end user got value from you. Let’s say you recommend a book to me, and that book changes my life and gets me from a pussy to a beast. Now for you it was just 10 seconds work, but for me it was alot of value. So i will tell about you or even buy a product you create later. So there is never going to be a bubble, Real people will always deliver value and they will always be successful if they work hard and gain the trust of their audience.

It’s like music and movies. So many new artists come and go, hard workers stay…if u take a close look at eminem, 50 cent, kanye west and other big names in hip hop u will see they are not just “musicians” or rappers or singers…they are entrepreneurs…always keep pushing forward…and that’s how we see alot of “amzing singers or rappers” just dissapear because they were just nothing more then a amzing rapper. And it’s not enough. You gotto do work of 10 people to get payed like 10 people.

So every rapper has it’s fan base…they worked hard for it, this does not mean there will be an end..no, jungle rules, strongest will survive and in this case means, the one who provides the best value and is a beast to continue whatever happens will always be there. More competition means better quality for the end user, buyer…

So i hope you don’t see it as a joke and i do understand your point, alot of jokers and “scammy im guys made “info marketing” bad looking, but hey if we follow that view, it means all black guys are gangsters, and all Russians are in mafia…

It is our own responsibility to read, take action, get wiser, get more experienced in what we do and understand who provides value and who does not.

So my friend, if you have something valueable for other people, don’t let anybody or any joker stop you and let you think it’s just not real. See life in terms of value, the medium is not important. If you have a simpel paper where it says where to find 100kg of gold, and u sell it, u just sold information and got rich.

Same goes to youtubers now days. They make easly arround 30-40K and most people don’t even realize it. A 19 years old guy can make 40k a month…and our parents told us to be an engiineer or doctor or lawyer to have a high end prestige job so they could be proud….

That’s why when those people seea young guy driving an expensieve car, first thing they think is “drug dealer or rich father”. They don’t understand thay they may be adding value to alot more peoples life then they do, that’s why they get payed more.

A youtube video can entertain millions of people…that 5 minute that you take from 1 million people, is 5 million minutes …it’s amazing no?

So go for it if u want it…oh also the story thing, is a universal power..if you go to a job interview and u get a question asked, answer with a story, vs “direct”…u will see your acceptance rate increase atleast 40% as most people(your competitors for the job) answer questions like a monkey..a story gives you authority, personality and makes u feel charming…in our heads only big people have stories…and we love stories…that’s why it works…if you have a story you are somebody!

Let me tell you my story, real story, just tell me if u like me more because of it :)(it’s not fake it is really real) but now u will feel like you know more about me just of this short story, and if you was my boss and u knew this about me, you would like me more then just knowing what u see on my resume.

When i was 16, i used to clean shoes in the mall for free. What i did was “advertise free” shoes cleaning…gentleman in suits came.. i cleaned their “one shoe” SO shiny so clear.. that their other shoe looked like shit…so i charged only for the second shoe…if they don’t want to pay they would go with one shoe cleaned and one “not so clean”…i would clean it so well that even if their shoes were clean, u would still see the difference….they had no choice but to buy…payed my college with it and bought my self my first electric guitar of 2500 euro’s while my friends dreamed of having it.

That’s what a story does :) even in real social life, your story is your identity, its powerful if you communicate it well…

Yeah.
a) HD now days is now relatively ‘cheap’ to stream, due to h.264 (and the upcoming h.265 codecs)
b) Shows that you’re progressing your content to the next level
c) the sharper the better
d) improves audio quality (AAC codec)
e) slides, inner content (if u use any, which i think you should, looks better and sharper)

Andrew, I aplaude you for keeping a straight face and not laugh durring your interview, but as much as I think this is a good interview for us to leran how not to become and what not to do, if this was the first video I landed on when I joined your site, I would’ve canceled my membership. Sorry bro I’m really bro’ed up.